sloan



UNITED STATES EEE-ENE 'OEEECE y y "Tuoi/Lasy J." sLoAu, or ivnw` YORK, iv. r.

i APPARATUS-ron nEGULATINGsUPPLYor WATER To STEAM-Bomans;

"specicauon of Letters Patent No. 12,835, dated Mair s, 1855.

To all whom #may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS j the city, county, and;` State of New York,

`have invented a new and improved apparatus for regulating the i supplyyof water to steam boilers andgenerators and for giving an ialarm` in casejthe water should get too hot inthe boiler or generator, of which the `following `is a full, clear, and exact descrip- ,tion, reference being had jto the accompany- 1 Xing drawings, making` part of this specification, in which-- A, 1 I Figuie` l, is an end elevation of a steam boiler with my improvedapparatus applied;

" and Figs. 2, and `3,vertical"sections taken at `the lines A, a, and 13,6, of Fig. 11. j

The same letters indicate like parts in all r the `figures. j f 3 In the said apparatusmy invention consists in the employment of a float placed inside the boiler, and forming 'a connection i j 4 with the outside thereof to indicate the level `of water in the boiler, and` to make it carry and set a mechanism for giving an alarm so that the said alarm shall then be oper` ated by a mechanism combined therewith receiving motion from the forced current of `supply water l as, it is forced toward the boiler, whereby the whole power required to work the alarmis derived solely from the s upply water as a motor, while the float i `simply performs theoiiices of indicating the height of water and setting the mechanism l that the operating mechanism may perform its office in turn.` And I also combine the `fioat inside the boiler to check the motion of l themechanism which `permits water to be supplied to the boiler so that when there is sufficient water in the boiler the supply shall be stopped, the float ,simply indicating the level and settinga stop to arrest the supply.

In the accompanying drawings a, represents thehead of a steam boiler o-f any desired constructiomand b, a float within the boiler and attached to an arm c, that .passes throughj an aperture in the head lof the boiler, and attached to a rocker d, outside the boiler, the aperturethrough which the arm passes being sufliciently large topermit the arm to play freely as the float follows the level of the water. The escape of steam through the aperture is prevented by a surrounding cap or casing e, secured `to the boiler in which the rocker d, is mounted, one end df the rockerpassing through `to the outside of the casing, and the jointcthereof 1 being 'suitably packed to prevent the escape Vof steam, although I prefer to make this joint of an india rubber sleeve attached to the casing and to the rocker as described in Letters Patent granted to me on the 16th day of May 1854. The outer end of the rocker is provided with an arm f, which vibrates as` the level of the water in the boiler rises and falls. And this arm is connected by a link g, with a catch 7L, jointed to the stem `t', `of a steam whistle valve y', for giving an alarm when the valve is drawn out.

'Io the lower end ofthe stem la, of the check valve Z, of the sup-ply pump is jointed an arm m, of a rock shaft u, the outer end j that the vibration of the said arm shall open l the valve to blow the whistle and give the required alarm to indicate that the water has descended to a dangerous level.

The check valve Z, of the supply pump is placed as usual in the supply pipe g, through which the water is forced to the boiler, the valve being interposed between the boiler and the supply pump, and hence the valve is opened by the force of the current of supply water, and closed by the return stroke of the pump piston to prevent the supply water from returning. From this it follows that if the valve be kept open by any means the water forced in by the advancing stroke of the piston of the supply pump instead of remaining in the boiler, will return to the pump by the back stroke of the piston. And'it will be equally obvious that if the valve be free to work the intermediate strokes of the piston o-f the supply pump will impart an intermittent motion to the valve, and thence to the rocker connected therewith, and to the arm o, so that as the rocker andL arm 0, vibrate, if the float is carried down by the water descending below the low water mark, the pin on the rocker arm o, will strike against the shoulder of the catch it, andopen the whistle valve to give an alarm. But when the float is carried up above the high Water mark then the sect-or arm on the rocker of the float will cross the line of vibratory motion of the arm 0, and thus stop its vibration which will keep the valve open and permit the Water which is forced in at every stroke of the piston of the pump to follow the piston back and run out of the boiler again, until the float sinks and indicates that the Water has fallen belovv the high Water mark which carries the sector above the line 0f vibration of the arm o, that it may be free to vibrate when the check valve is again set in motion by the supply pump. In this Way the float is simply employed'to indicate the level of Water in the boiler and to determine the position of a sector or other equivalent stop to stop the motions of the valve which regulates the supply of Water to the boiler, and also to set the mechanism so that the alarm shall be given by power derived from the current of supply Water from the supply pump.

I have above described the mode of construction and arrangement which I believe to be ths simplest and most .practical for the application of my invention; but I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to such special construction and arrangement so long as the same results are produced by equivalent means, as for instance instead of the check valve the required motion may be taken from the induction valve of the supply pump this being one of the modes contemplated although others may be substituted.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. The employment of the feed Water before it enters the boiler as a motor for giving the alarm When the Water is too 10W in. a steam boiler or generator, substantially as described, in combination with the float inside the boiler for indicating the level of YWater and settingthe mechanism that the alarm may be operated by the mechanism receiving motion from the feed Water, substantially as specified.

2. And I also claim stopping the supply of Water to the boiler by the employment of a stop to check the Working ofthe valve, substantially as specified, but this I only claim when the said stop is simply set by t-he float Within the boileras set forth.

THOS. J. SLOAN.

Witnesses:

WM. H. BISHOP, ANDREW DE LACY. 

